How long should beer sit before refrigeration?

[Flexmedia]

I made a cascading pale ale that told me to refrigerate one after bottling for 4 days and if there is carbonation, the rest are ready. I want to give some away but how long can I let them sit before they have to be refrigerated?

Thanks!

 

[mongoose33]

Generally people will let beers bottle condition for 2-3 weeks before they expect carbonation to be complete. The refrigeration is to allow headspace CO2 to go back into solution.

 

[Flexmedia]

That makes sense. I'll wait that long before I'll have them try.
Thanks!

 

[flars]

The beer does not need to be refrigerated until a couple of days before planned drinking. Keeping the fully carbonated bottles in a cool room or refrigerated will lengthen the shelf life.

Beers that are transported after being fully carbonated and chilled will still need a day or two of refrigeration before opening to let the sediments settle down again. Sometimes highly carbonated beers will gush when opened if the sediments are still suspended.

A pale ale could be fully carbonated after a week at 70° to 75°F. Higher ABV beers may take two to three weeks or more. I think four days is really rushing it.

 

[Flexmedia]

Good! I dint have a need to rush as gifts. Never having done this before, I just didn't want it to go bad.
Thanks for the tip

 

[mongoose33]

Just as a thought, you might want to try them yourself before giving them away. Just to be sure....

 

[Flexmedia]

That's just it mongoose33. I've never tasted alcohol. Just never started. My wife does! Once a year. But my Nephews are pretty good at it! I think they will be pleasantly surprised

 

[mongoose33]

So....you don't drink beer but you're brewing it?

 

[Flexmedia]

A little odd but true. I’m a beekeeper and just started making mead this year to use the honey. One thing is I never run out of people wanting to be my taste tester! I also bake but I can eat way more desserts than anybody can drink beer, for sure!

 

[thehaze]

That is odd, but I bet it makes a great story when meeting and talking with people.

PS! I also love desserts.

 

[Brownalemikie]

Really......you brew beer but you've never drank beer? That's a first for me. Good luck!

 

[myndflyte]

Good! I dint have a need to rush as gifts. Never having done this before, I just didn't want it to go bad.
Thanks for the tip

People normally wait 2-3 weeks at room temp for it to carb up. As for how long it can sit after that is really style dependent. A wheat or IPA with lots of aroma going on tend to be drank early because if they sit around, those aromas dissipate. Something heavier like a stout or barleywine can take months/years to finally taste good. However a wheat or IPA that sits around for a while won't go bad per se, it'll just be different from what the brewer was trying to make.

 

[Flexmedia]

Mostly just a novelty now at 57 yrs old, at least my Daughters think so. Doesn’t stop them from wanting the try my homebrew tho!

 

[Lefou]

Just as a thought, you might want to try them yourself before giving them away. Just to be sure....

Sharing is fine, but dadburnit, if it's good stuff, it's more difficult to give away.

 

[mongoose33]

I think you may find it difficult to improve if you're not tasting what you're brewing. It'll be hard to know what contributes to what flavors if you're not directly assessing the beer yourself.

I'm not saying to suddenly become a beer drinker, I'm just saying that it's sort of like casting lead bullets for shooting without ever actually shooting them. How do you tell if what you're doing, and/or what you change, makes a difference?

Who knows, maybe you'll figure it out.

 

[Flexmedia]

People normally wait 2-3 weeks at room temp for it to carb up.

Myndflyte,
Thanks. One thing I am learning there are a billion recipes our there with a ton of different instructions. I'm hoping I can find a good one and stick with it for a while

 

[Metalhead_brewer]

yep 2-3 weeks is the winner for me, once they are fully carbonated i put them in a fridge so they're ready to drink at any time (they keep conditioning even in a fridge so they will get better with time anyway)

 

[Flexmedia]

I think you may find it difficult to improve if you're not tasting what you're brewing. It'll be hard to know what contributes to what flavors if you're not directly assessing the beer yourself.

I'm not saying to suddenly become a beer drinker, I'm just saying that it's sort of like casting lead bullets for shooting without ever actually shooting them. How do you tell if what you're doing, and/or what you change, makes a difference?

Who knows, maybe you'll figure it out.

Mongoose33,
It is somewhat of a handicap! I'll have to depend on my wife (who's always around..humm...) she's no expert but she can tell the difference between a good or bad change. It's kinda like the guy who used to tune my piano. He didn't know how to PLAY the piano but he did a great job tuning it. BUT we eventually dumped him and went with the guy who tunes pianos AND plays. It was just too weird! Lol!

 

[Flexmedia]

yep 2-3 weeks is the winner for me, once they are fully carbonated i put them in a fridge so they're ready to drink at any time (they keep conditioning even in a fridge so they will get better with time anyway)

Yup, that's what I'm doing from now on. Seems best!

 

[Flexmedia]

Well, everyone who tried my first batch said they liked it. Some said it was a bit “Hoppy” Not sure about that unless I use less hops but I wanted to stick with the recipe the first time. There were only 2 people who didn’t trust me to even try it but that’s progress isn’t it? *Grin!*